


An Empty Grave

by denytheworld



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 07:21:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1378804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denytheworld/pseuds/denytheworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’ll be on Luffy’s front porch with a few gummy (and not so gummy) worms in his pocket. Ace’ll try to make Luffy eat all the worms and for once, Luffy might just do it if it means Ace’ll be back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Empty Grave

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt from my Luffy RP account for an Ace RPer. 
> 
> PROMPT: My character thinks your character is dead. This is what mine says at your character's unfilled grave.
    
    
      The funeral was nice.
    

Luffy didn’t know what other word to use to describe it. It was very quiet and everyone was dressed in black. Ace would have liked it since he always told Luffy to shut up, that he was being too loud and scaring all the squirrels away. They were always chasing squirrels since they didn’t have a pet dog to do it for them, no matter how much the two of them begged. Luffy didn’t know if Ace liked the black or not, but probably not. Ace’s favourite colour is -  _was_  - is red.

Luffy should have worn red.It could have been like a sign. Ace will see it and know that Luffy knows that he’s still out there. Ace was very good at hiding but Luffy has this bright red shirt with a big shiny yellow star on the front that he could see. Wherever he is.

Instead, he’s in this itchy suit that smells like moth balls and has a weird starburst stain on his sleeve. He had tried to run away when his dad came to dress him but without Ace there to hide him, he was quickly caught, washed, groomed and stuffed into this stupid monkey suit. And no one was even looking at him! He could have worn his pirate tee and sandals. It’s not like Ace hadn’t seen him in it before. Ace has seen him in much less.

The casket was closed as everyone came up to say a few words before the service began. Luffy’s petulant, “I don’t  _wanna_ talk to an empty box!” had been met with silence so cold and eyes so angry that he’d clamped his mouth shut and marched to the box without Ace in it and  _stared_. He’d stared at the glossy wooden box with its shiny gold trim until his parents herded him away. He’d kept staring as the other boys and girls from their class came and went - looking just as stupid and tired as he felt.

If this really was Ace’s funeral and not just one of those mean tricks he liked to play, Luffy knows Ace would be disappointed. Not even one joke and the teachers that hated him all said nice things.

"Liars are the  _worst_.” Luffy mumbles sullenly as Mr. Akainu says something else about Ace and his Grandpa does hit him this time,  _whack!_ across the head. The hit stung and Luffy wanted to cry and he wanted to find Ace, pull him right out of that stupid wooden box or wherever he’s hiding and hit him for making Luffy dress up and come here in the first place! He’s missing his morning cartoons for him and now his Gramps hit him!

And everyone’s all sad! Even Mr. Gol isn’t smiling and he’s  _always_ smiling. Ace was playing a stupid mean joke and he’s probably laughing it up somewhere.

This is a bad joke because Ace can’t be dead.

When the adults finally stopped their talking, they sit down for a while which is  _very_  good. Luffy’s tired and disappointed. He still hasn’t found Ace but he has hope. Ace is tricky and has been gone for a long time now. Dad says it’s a big trip to visit family somewhere and Gramps says Ace is off training. They can’t both be right and the adults are lying to him.

He’s not even mad at Ace anymore for going without him. But he wants Ace back. He’ll be on Luffy’s front porch with a few gummy (and not so gummy) worms in his pocket. Ace’ll try to make Luffy eat all the worms and for once, Luffy might just do it if it means Ace’ll be back.

From his seat, Luffy keeps a good look out. Ace has  _got_  to be around here somewhere. But an old guy starts talking - very nasally and at some parts, Luffy drifts off, only to be woken by Sabo’s occasional (painful) prods to his head. Eyes red and puffy, Sabo looks even sadder than the day Sabo’s cat Meow died. Luffy wants to tell Sabo not to be so sad. Ace isn’t dead. He’s just playing a mean joke! He wants to shout it aloud so everyone can hear it, to know that it was Luffy who solved the mystery!

But the old guy keeps talking, the adults start crying and Sabo looks away before Luffy could even hint at it.

Luffy’s starting to hate this fake funeral.

He’s back up there with the box again and this time, he  _has_ to say something. Gramps said so and Luffy figures if he pretends to play along, then Ace will  _finally_ give him another clue. Ace likes to do that a lot and called it part of his ‘training’. Most of the time, he was sent to fetch sticks when they played Dog.

Casting a suspicious glance around to make sure he was completely alone, Luffy finally bent down to get a closer look at the seam. He could try to pry it open but Ace wasn’t in there. There weren’t any holes for him to peek out of. But Luffy’ll talk to it anyway. “Ace! Why didn’t you tell me you were hiding?”

Nothing.

Luffy stares and his reflection off the glossy wooden casket stares back at him. Pretending to talk to someone who wasn’t even there to listen was  _hard_. “I’m not even mad anymore. I get it! There’s no way I coulda stayed quiet…” It was true. Luffy was eight and Ace was eleven, Ace was big enough to stay as still and as quiet for as long as he wanted. The joke probably wouldn’t have gone on for so long if Luffy had tagged along. “But that’s okay! Next time, I can come with, right? You’ll have to… you’ll have to tell me how you did it though and where you went! I bet you had lots of adventures without me and Sabo.  _Man_ , you’re one lucky boy…”

"Everyone’s acting like you’re really dead," Luffy continues on awkwardly when no answer was forthcoming. He snickers uneasily, "I can’t wait to see their faces when you surprise them! Dadan might swallow a ciggie!" Out of the corner of his eye, he spots his Dad waving at him, gesturing for him to finish up. It was time to go then. Reaching out, Luffy placed an open palm against the casket lid and smacked it soundly, "Well, gotta go! Dad’s calling for me. We’re gonna bury you and then I can watch my cartoons. There’s no school today since everyone’s here. Good plan, eh?I bet everyone will thank you when you come back. But… come back home soon, okay? Bye!"

Luffy’s got a lot to do still. He needs to find Sabo and tell him to stop crying before Ace finds out and makes fun of him.


End file.
